From The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus:
When the Vermont Symphony Orchestra presents its second “Music for Days Like This,” online at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, it will feature some unlikely ensembles, including VSO percussionists D. Thomas Toner and Nicola Cannizzaro.
“Seeing Tom and Nick play a percussion duo is a whole different world than seeing them play the bass drum, the triangle and maybe a cymbal in the symphony,” explains Matt LaRocca, composer and the VSO’s creative projects chairman, who curates the VSO’s online programming.
If that weren’t unusual enough, VSO cellists John Dunlop, Perri Morris, Bonnie Klimowski and Dieuwke Davydov will join the percussionists in works ranging from a commissioned world premiere to well-known music by Arvo Pärt and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
[...]LaRocca calls “As One” by Gene Koshinsky “one of the coolest percussion duets I’ve ever seen.”
“Watching it is as amazing as what you hear,” he said. “It’s one of those pieces where the actual choreography and movement that Tom and Nick do, it’s so much fun to watch. They act like a mirror image to one another all the time while sharing this giant five-octave marimba.”
Matt LaRocca is lecturer of music at ̽̽.
Professor D. Thomas Toner conducts ̽̽'s Concert Band, Vermont Wind Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble.
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra stream its second “Music for Days Like This” online at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, with a mix of classics and new music from diverse composers, hosted by David Ludwig. VSO Juke Box returns at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16. Single tickets start at $5, on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale; call 802-864-5741, ext. 110, or go online to
Photo credit: RetroMotion